Entertainment Webisodes for Children

A Squared Entertainment, a new children’s media company, has teamed up with AOL to unveil a new slate of entertainment brands for children. The programs will feature personalities like Warren Buffett, Gisele Bündchen, Martha Stewart, and the late Carl Sagan.

The aim is to entertain and teach kids about finance, the environment, creativity, and science. A Squared, with AOL, will produce 3-5 minute webisodes involving each celebrity that will premiere on AOL.

As the short-format digital entertainment is getting popular, comic book creator Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment have announced the release of a digital motion comic series, Time Jumper. It’ll release as a ten-part series of 5-to-8 minute digital episodes made available for retail on iTunes. (Read: Disney Presents Digital Comic Series: Time Jumper)

Also, leveraging the power and reach of microblogging, a new novel “Robojit and the Sand Planet” has come on Twitter network. It’s being presented as short tweets on Twitter. (Read: Twitter Hosts Serial Tech Novel)

Now, AOL will also work with A Squared to distribute the webisodes more broadly on the Web, leveraging the power of social networking. In addition, AOL is working with MGX Lab to create a dynamic interactive world for each property, with games and activities to support and extend the webisode content.

Secret Millionaire’s Club, featuring Warren Buffett, and GiGi & the Green Team, featuring Gisele Bündchen, are scheduled to debut on AOL this fall with Little Martha, featuring Martha Stewart, and Kosmos, inspired by Carl Sagan and created by Cosmos co-author Ann Druyan, to launch in spring 2010.

In Secret Millionaire’s Club, an animated Warren Buffett is a mentor to a group of kids who have adventures in business and learn financial lessons along the way.

Gigi & The Green Team features an animated Gisele Bündchen, who lives a double life–supermodel by day, superhero protector of the environment by night. The series marks the first superhero series for girls that will educate, entertain, inspire and empower girls to protect and preserve the environment.

Little Martha (working title) features a 10-year old animated Martha Stewart who operates an event planning company from her tricked-out treehouse. Together with a group of friends, Little Martha teaches kids about cooking, crafting, and gardening as they create unforgettable events together.

Kosmos features an animated Carl Sagan, and was inspired by the science series, Cosmos, to introduce a new version for kids. Developed by Ann Druyan, co-creator of Cosmos, Creative Director of NASA’s ‘Voyager Interstellar Message,’ Kosmos combines real science with action-adventure in space.

Twitter Welcomes Robojit, the Novel Character

Leveraging the power and reach of microblogging, a tech writer has rolled out his new novel Robojit and the Sand Planet on Twitter network today (July 19). The first episode of the serial novel with 10 tweets is live now, at https://twitter.com/robojit

The novel will appear on Twitter in the form of a serial with about 10 tweets everyday. And at this rate, it’ll take nearly a year to complete the novel.

The Twitter work is also supported by a Facebook page to invite fans and readers to share their views with others. The Facebook page is located at: http://tinyurl.com/kwxmhu

It’s a technology fiction with focus on adventure and thriller genre. The story revolves around the central character Robojit – a humanoid. The name Robojit is derived from Robot and Jit that in Hindi language means victory.

The story begins with a setting in the future. It runs in three parts: affairs of a kingdom that’s presented as an imaginary planet, its conflicts with wicked forces, and a final mission that takes some of the characters to another remote planet. Robojit helps the lead couple achieve the mission while overcoming numerous challenges during the voyage.

The target audience is children and young adults across the world. The highlight of the story is its ability to effectively blend technology, spiritualism, and humanism with a captivating fantasy in the backdrop. The story is highly entertaining, as it’s full of thrill, adventure, excitement, and timely use of humor.

The story can be adopted for making a movie, animation film, digital video game, comic book, and e-book. And it can be extended for creating sequels around the central character, Robojit.

Rakesh Raman, the author of Robojit and the Sand Planet, is a technology writer based in India. He is also the author for this blog.

Free e-book to Save Kids from Cyber Sharks

Surfing Among the Cyber Sharks is a guidebook on Internet safety for parents. The book uses real-life examples, illustrations, and statistics that show the risks and consequences for kids posed by their online activity. CyberPatrol, a leading provider of tools to protect people online, has released it. 

The book is written by Vince Schiavone and Bob Kessinger with contributions from John Sancin and Barb Rose. It compares online threats with sharks, ever present in what appears to be safe waters.

“The shark analogy is perfect because parents immediately get it,” said Bob Kessinger. “Like sharks in the water the apparent safety of the Internet is full of Cyber Sharks, and if kids aren’t careful they can easily become victims.” 

According to CyberPatrol, the book also addresses the difference between being cyber savvy and cyber smart, and why parents should and can play a vital role in making sure their kids safely navigate the Web.

Recently, cable/TV company Comcast also suggested tips to maintain privacy while using the online networks. It says parents should become familiar with networks like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to advise their children about the importance of being safe and smart while communicating online. (Read: 5 Tips to Use Facebooks, Twitters Gracefully)

A study shows that teen girls who depict themselves online in a provocative way and who have a history of child abuse are more likely to receive online sexual advances. Then they meet those individuals offline. It suggests parents should know how their teenage girls present themselves online. (Read: Is Internet Bad for Teen Girls?)

CyberPatrol is offering a free online version of Surfing Among the Cyber Sharks from its web site, at http://www.cyberpatrol.com/bookdownload.asp.

Microsoft Selects Safer Gaming Ambassadors

As part of its Get Game Smart public service campaign, Microsoft today announced the formation of a new consumer panel made up of 10 teens and their parents. They’ll help educate other families on ways to enjoy safer interactive entertainment at home.

The Get Game Smart Ambassadors represent families from eight U.S. cities. Through the use of an interactive Web site, blog, and online social community, they’re demonstrating their commitment to safer video gaming and inspiring their peers to tackle this issue.

The 10 Ambassador teams were chosen by popular vote on http://www.getgamesmart.com/ based on a short video they submitted, highlighting their families’ approach to balanced video gaming and media use.

The Ambassadors will contribute tips and information to the campaign’s Web site and blog, provide insight on their challenges and solutions related to balanced media use, and help educate families within their communities on these issues.

Recently, cable, TV company Comcast also suggested tips to maintain privacy while using online networks. It says parents should become familiar with networks like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to advise their children about the importance of being safe and smart while communicating online. (Read: 5 Tips to Use Facebooks, Twitters Gracefully)

Also, published in the June issue of Pediatrics, a study reveals that 40% of all 173 teen girls in the study reported experiencing online sexual advances, and 26% reported meeting someone in person who they first met online. (Read: Is Internet Bad for Teen Girls?)

The Microsoft campaign also aims to help parents and kids establish healthy habits for playing video games, watching TV, and browsing the Web.

DIRECTV Mas Launches Proyecto Esperanza

DIRECTV Mas, DIRECTV’s Spanish-language programming service, is launching Proyecto Esperanza (Project Hope). It’s an advertising and PSA campaign aimed at Hispanics in the United States that calls out the plight of orphans in the Caribbean and Latin America.

The television campaign will feature Latin superstar Charytin and give people around the country an opportunity to sign up for DIRECTV Mas through a dedicated telephone number and support The Orphaned Starfish Foundation.

Charytin will serve as the spokesperson on behalf of DIRECTV Mas for the Proyecto Esperanza campaign. Charytin will star in a series of commercials and public service announcements calling attention to the plight of these children and letting people know how they can help, says DIRECTV Mas.

“I am honored to be the ambassador/spokesperson for Proyecto Esperanza. I have children of my own and know first-hand the importance of good education,” said Charytin. “Being able to see first hand the work The Orphaned Starfish Foundation is doing, gives me great hope for the future of these children and thousands of others throughout Latin America.”

The Orphaned Starfish Foundation was founded on the belief that education is a supremely important method of saving orphans from the cycle of poverty. Since its inception, the Foundation has funded the construction and operation of vocational training facilities in several orphanages and homes for disadvantaged children in Latin America, including funding for furnishings, required equipment, trainer salaries, and job placement service.

It’s a volunteer-run organization and currently supports 17 projects in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama.

She’s 13, Can Still Spell Laodicean

Meet Kavya Shivashankar, a 13-year-old speller from Olathe, Kan., who won the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night.

Kavya was named the national champion in the Championship Round after correctly spelling the word “Laodicean” which is defined as “lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics.”

An eighth grader at California Trail Junior High School in Olathe, Kavya represented The Olathe News in this year’s competition. This was the fourth Scripps National Spelling Bee in which she competed.

The spelling competition began Tuesday with 293 competitors who qualified to compete in the Bee by winning locally sponsored bees in their home communities.

The ABC Television Network broadcast the final rounds live, with replays tentatively scheduled to be aired on May 30 at 3 pm (ESPN2), June 2 at 11:30 pm (ESPNU), June 3 at 8:30 pm (ESPNU), and June 13 at 4 pm (ESPNU).

Finishing second in this year’s competition was Tim Ruiter, a 12-year-old seventh grader representing Times Community Newspapers of Reston, Va.

Finishing third was Aishwarya Pastapur, a 13-year-old eighth grader representing the State Journal-Register of Springfield, Ill.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is an educational program, administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company and 287 local spelling bee sponsors in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe; also, the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, New Zealand, and South Korea.

The purpose of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is to help students improve spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage.

Photo courtesy: Scripps National Spelling Bee

Disney Kids Channel in Central and Eastern Europe

The Walt Disney Company today (May 26) announced that it will re-brand its Jetix channels in five Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries to become Disney Channel, a leading kids TV brand.

Kid-driven, family inclusive Disney Channel is set to launch later this year in Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, increasing the channel’s distribution to 12 million households in the CEE region, says the company. Disney Channel will be localised for the market with programming dubbed in local languages.

Disney Channel series, according to the company, joined the Jetix CEE schedule last year and has helped strengthen the channel’s position.

Targeted at two distinct age groups, kids aged 2 to 5 and kids aged 6 to 14 and their families, Disney Channel will offer CEE viewers a mix of programming including live action favourites Hannah Montana, the animated series Phineas and Ferb and Disney Channel Original Movies High School Musical and Camp Rock.

The channel will also feature a daily Playhouse Disney programming block with a range of entertaining, learning-focused programming for preschoolers, including Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny.

Meeting Disney’s Friends for Change

The Disney’s Friends for Change: Project Green initiative invites young people to join together to help the environment across four key areas: climate, water, waste, and habitats. The Walt Disney Company has launched the project. It’s a multiplatform environmental initiative that will help kids help the planet.

Disney stars Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers, and Demi Lovato are among the 29 young stars participating in outreach messages to debut on Disney Channel, Disney XD, Radio Disney, and Disney.com.

Kids will learn practical ways to preserve the planet, track their collective impact, and have the opportunity to vote on how $1 million in donations from Disney will be divided and invested in various environmental causes over the course of a year.

Beginning today, May 15, Disney Channel and Radio Disney will air the first in a year-long series of on-air messages. It’ll feature Disney Channel stars challenging kids to join them in registering and pledging environmental stewardship. They can do so by making small changes in their daily actions that can positively impact the world around them.

Hasbro, Discovery JV to Create Kids TV Network

Children entertainment company, Hasbro, and Discovery Communications have decided to form a 50:50 joint venture (JV), including a television network and website, dedicated to children’s and family entertainment. The JV also will receive a minority interest in the U.S. version of Hasbro.com.

Both the network and the venture’s online component will feature content from Hasbro’s portfolio of entertainment and educational properties built over the past 90 years, including original programming for animation, game shows, and live-action series and specials.

New programming will be based on brands such as ROMPER ROOM, TRIVIAL PURSUIT, SCRABBLE, CRANIUM, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, GAME OF LIFE, TONKA, and TRANSFORMERS, among others.

The TV network and online presence also will include content from Discovery’s library of children’s educational programming, such as BINDI THE JUNGLE GIRL, ENDURANCE, TUTENSTEIN, HI-5, FLIGHT 29 DOWN and PEEP AND THE BIG WIDE WORLD, as well as programming from third-party producers.

The network will continue to operate as Discovery Kids until the debut of the to-be-named channel and new programming slate. Discovery Communications will retain the Discovery Kids brand for, among other things, its international networks and its licensing and merchandising business.

Schools to Enjoy Wireless Connectivity

IBM says it has been awarded a services contract by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training to implement wireless connectivity across 463 secondary schools. The project comes under the Australian Federal Government’s Digital Education Revolution initiative.

Under the contract, valued at AU$70m, IBM will roll out secure, scalable wireless connectivity at public secondary and central schools, providing more than 200,000 students and around 25,000 teachers with enhanced teaching and learning opportunities.

The solution, according to IBM, will connect wireless-enabled notebooks via a centrally managed network, providing students with increased access to information and opportunities for collaboration, and teachers with the tools they need to deliver education.

The New South Wales Minister for Education and Training, Verity Firth, said the network, to be delivered over the next 12 months, will support access to learning resources, school resources, and the internet.

“The way kids learn is going to be transformed … we are not tying students to their desks — learning activities using online resources including the internet can take place in classrooms or the library,” said Ms. Firth.

In addition to the design and build of an Aruba-based wireless solution that leverages the Department’s existing investment, IBM will provide the Department with project management, network configuration, and roll-out expertise, enabling most secondary schools to take advantage of the new technology before the end of the year.

To achieve this, implementation teams will be set up across regional and metropolitan New South Wales creating approximately 100 contractor roles during the course of the network deployment. Approximately two-thirds of these implementation teams will operate outside of Sydney, and will comprise locally sourced skills wherever possible, informs IBM.

IBM will also work with equipment vendors to provide the Department with a single point of contact and seamless implementation, the company says.

Source: My Techbox Online